The present invention relates to pressure regulators and especially to a pressure regulator apparatus and method of making a pressure regulator for a sprinkler system and having an inner connecting housing coupled with the pressure regulator mechanism so that two housing portions can be locked together to lock a pressure regulator mechanism in place.
In sprinkler irrigation systems, water is received from a source of water under pressure and is introduced into a main water supply pipe which is connected with one or more distributing pipes forming a fluid conduit. The irrigation system includes a plurality of discharge irrigation sprinkler heads. Water pressure throughout the pipe lines tends to vary for a variety of reasons and, as the pressure varies between two sprinklers having discharge orifices of exactly the same size, so does the output flow. The quantity of water discharged over any given period of time varies in relation to the variations in pressure, thus causing uneven distribution of water from a sprinkler system with a greater amount of water being discharged through sprinklers where the pressure is higher and a lesser amount through sprinklers where the pressure is lower. To counter this problem, pressure regulators have been developed which can be attached to the water line ahead of the sprinkler head to maintain constant pressure at the sprinkler head for all the sprinkler heads in the irrigation system.
There have been a great variety of fluid pressure regulators for regulating the flow of fluids through a pipe in irrigation systems. These pressure regulators typically rely on a spring biasing a piston or other member in a passageway for opening or closing a portion of the passageway. Passageways typically go around the piston and follow a circuitous passage. One prior art pressure regulator may be seen in Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,985 of Oct. 1, 1985 which is for a pressure regulator having a housing having a passageway therethrough and having a spring biased throttling stem mounted in the housing passageway for adjusting the passageway through the throttling member seat so that fluid pressure is adjusted between the input and output of the fluid pressure regulator. The throttling stem also has a dampening member or pressure controller mounted in the passageway to dampen oscillations in the throttling stem.
The present application improves on this prior art pressure regulator by the addition of a housing which locks the pressure regulator mechanism into place without the use of screws and threaded fasteners for locking the components together and which prevents the loosening of the housing and the leakage by the loosening of the threaded housing fastening members.
There have been a variety of prior art coupling systems used with pressure regulators and fluid housings. In the Bruning U.S. Pat. No. 2,966,371, a longitudinal yieldable coupling is provided for connecting a female coupling part with a pair of opposed male coupling parts to provide a longitudinally yieldable coupling to compensate for differences in spacing of supports for the coupling parts. In the Eugene et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,044, a sealed drainage unit is provided for a hydraulic circuit, such as a circuit for distributing drinking water on aircraft.
The present invention provides for a pressure regulator and a method of assembling a pressure regulator in which a pressure regulator mechanism is similar to the one taught in Applicant's prior patent which positions a pressure regulator mechanism between two housing portions which are then forced together to lock the pressure mechanism in place such that the pressure regulator can then be attached within a sprinkler irrigation system and which has a sealed housing which is not subject to leakage from the loosening of threaded members.